“Which is why we waited up,” Kekoa said. “Nyx told me about your upcoming schedule, so we thought we’d use the time together at night to catch up on the day and still have a chance to bond even though you’re busy.”
“Thank you for this,” I said. “The holidays are always hectic in my line of work. Everyone wants to sprinkle a bit of Christmas magic into their events.”
“Is that why you don’t have decorations up?” Kekoa asked.
“Honestly,” I said. “I put up so many for other people that I don’t have the energy to decorate the house.”
“He neglected to mention that I hate doing it alone, which is the real reason there’s nothing up but the holiday SpongeBob potholders we picked up today,” Nyx said.
“You got me potholders?” I squealed, whipping my head around to see them.
“Kekoa got you potholders and offered to help me unearth the ones I lost in my workshop.”
“I knew it!” I said as a flush spread across his cheeks. “I knew that’s where they’d gotten to.”
Squirming, Nyx sat across from me at the table with a sheepish look on his face. “We’ve got an order for heavy-duty shelves coming along with some things Kekoa needed. They’re going to help me organize the shop, so I have an actual worktable instead of one cluttered with the parts and pieces I’ve harvested from unfixable things. Once the shelves arrive and we get them set up and labeled, we’ll find all the potholders I’ve lost and return them to the kitchen.”
“Bless you,” I said when I turned back to see them setting a drink by my hand. “For the potholders and for offering to help him tackle what has grown into a monumentally overwhelming task. I tried once, and we wound up in such a big argument that I slept in the hammock out back.”
“I’d ask why not the couch, but after falling asleep on it this evening, I already have the answer to that,” Kekoa said.
“Got you, didn’t it?” I asked.
“My hip may never be the same.”
“Yeah, my shoulder protests every time I try to get comfortable on it,” I said. “We tried replacing the cushions, but after a year, we’re right back to sprawling on a log.”
Kekoa just shook their head and giggled. “Let me guess, it’s on the ever-expanding list of things you keep meaning to replace but also keep forgetting to write down so you remember that you need to replace them.”
“You know us so well already,” I declared. “What other secrets has Nyx been sharing? Did he tell you about my black thumb?”
“Yup,” Nyx replied, “and then he went out and did that.”
He gestured to the window, where a plant box stood with a trio of small plants in it.
“Is that…” I muttered, squinting across the table to try and determine which herbs they were.
“Rosemary, basil, and thyme,” Kekoa replied. “Yeah, it is. Nyx said you loved cooking with them but couldn’t keep them alive, so I got them for you, and some oregano too.”
They drew my attention to another pot on the windowsill beside it, mostly obscured by the curtains, as well as one hanging from a hook on the windowsill.
“And what’s the other one?” I asked.
“Mint,” Kekoa replied. “For cocktails.”
“You…you got me mint for mojitos and mint juleps?”
“Not to mention your infamous cucumber mint gimlets, yes, they did.”
“I’ll tend to them for you and let you know when they are ready for you to use,” Kekoa said. “I’ll snip them for you too, since Nyx warned me that you liked to go all Freddy Krueger with the clippers.”
“I wish this was one of those times when he was exaggerating, but he’s not,” I replied. “My hands will remain off the herbs until you give them to me.”
“I’m sure they’ll appreciate that,” they said.
“They also got us this,” Nyx said, and again, I was surprised by the newest addition to our kitchen.
“A dry erase board,” I sighed. “You are a prince among jellyfish. I can’t believe you managed so much with a quick trip to the market.”
